


Digimon OTP Week 2017

by EveandJohnny



Category: Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure Zero Two | Digimon Adventure 02, Digimon Adventure tri.
Genre: College AU, Crossover, Disney AU, F/F, F/M, Fantasy AU, M/M, Pacific Rim AU, Profession AU, Sci-Fi AU, Soulmate AU, Supernatural AU - Freeform, Universe Alterations, Zombie AU, coffeshop au, mythology AU, superhero au, time period au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-01
Updated: 2017-08-28
Packaged: 2018-12-09 09:13:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 19,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11666112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EveandJohnny/pseuds/EveandJohnny
Summary: In which Taichi writes a song for Yamato’s band and Koushirou is furious about it.





	1. 01.08. Happy Odaiba Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Taichi writes a song for Yamato’s band and Koushirou is furious about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to be a bonus for the #DigimonOTPWeek as it fits nowhere in the given prompts.
> 
> But as today is #OdaibaDay take this as my contribution to the celebrations!

„Taichi has written a song for our band“ Yamato told Koushirou casually without a greeting when he entered the computer club.  
  
He looked up from his laptop. “Yamato! How come you dare to enter the realm of the nerds?” His tone was just slightly mocking.  
  
Yamato overheard it and went over to his desk. “I wanted to show you the song.”  
  
Koushirou frowned. “Since when do you want my advice on music? Or is it that bad?”  
  
Yamato shook his head. “It’s not bad, it’s actually bloody brilliant. I never knew Taichi had such writing skills. It’s just - But look for yourself.” He gave him a single sheet of paper, already wrinkled from a lot of folding.  
  
Koushirou skimmed over it, stopped, then read it again. The chair clattered to the ground when he sprang to his feet, not caring about it. “He must be kidding” he muttered, then shouted “He must be kidding!”  
Yamato looked after him as he raced out of the room.

Hikari opened the apartment door, wondering who demanded entrance with such ferocious ringing.  
  
“Kou? What is it? You look quite distressed.”  
  
Koushirou panted, leaning on the door frame. “I am, Hikari, I am. Is Taichi at home?”  
  
She nodded and stepped aside to let him in, indicating to the siblings’ room. Koushirou flung the door open, catching Taichi upside down on his bed with his head hanging over the edge, playing on his Nintendo.  
  
“Kou?” was all he managed before he got a sheet of paper shoved into his face by a fuming Koushirou.  
  
“This” he waved the page in front of his face “This is a freaking farewell letter! A suicide note! What the heck do you want to tell us?”  
  
Taichi sat up and took the paper. “Oh, you mean the song text. Well, it’s just fictional; you really don’t have to worry about me. I won’t kill myself.”  
  
“Now that’s reassuring.” Koushirou’s voice was dripping with sarcasm. “That could also happen by accident, you know. It’s not a suicide then but a freaking foreseeing and that disturbs me even more.”  
  
Taichi grabbed Koushirou’s flailing arms and pinned them to his side, not having any difficulties with it.  
“Kou, what the hell are you talking about?”  
  
Koushirou closed his eyes and breathed slowly. “I, I got carried away, I’m sorry. It’s just that your lyrics remind me of my cousin’s favourite song, _Fiction_ by Avenged Sevenfold. It had been written as the last song their drummer contributed to the album, and only days later he had been found dead in his house. It has basically the same tone as yours and it…it’s just creepy as hell.” Tears shimmered in the corners of his eyes.  
  
“Oh Kou.” Taichi pulled him into a bear hug, stroking his hair assuring. He wouldn’t leave Koushirou, not in this lifetime.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you don’t know the song I’m referring to, you should go listen to it or at least read the lyrics. It’s a special song - doesn’t get to you in the first listening but with every session it intensifies - but it’s also truly creepy as hell under those circumstances, especially as it’s not clear what really happened that day to Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan. RIP.  
> Oh, and did you notice the reference to another of my favourite bands? Who finds it receives a gold star ;)


	2. 14.08. Coffeshop AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Koushirou runs a coffee shop and Mimi makes Taichi go there.

„Have you heard of the new coffee shop that has opened up in the TOC? It sells just four kinds of beverages and two kinds of pastries” Mimi said casually as she and Taichi waited for the train.  
  
Taichi frowned. That business model sounded doomed to him. Everywhere he went, he saw coffee shops, artisan or not but preferably so, with at least a dozen versions of coffee to choose from. That’s what people wanted nowadays, he thought. _Simple_ seemed to be out of style at the moment.  
  
  They stepped on the train, Mimi busily scrolling through her social media nearly motionless, just snorting or huffing now and then. Then she suddenly beamed up at him.  
“Why don’t we stop there for coffee?”  
  
Taichi didn’t know what she was talking about, then remembered. He didn’t know what should be so special about it but they would probably be the only customers which he preferred. He hated waiting for his coffee.  
He nodded. “Sure. It’s on our way after all.”  
  
And just like that, Mimi was on her phone again. Taichi just shook his head but smiled.

The TOC was swarming; it was a late Friday afternoon. Working moms were doing the weekly grocery shopping, groups of girls chatted noisily while floating in and out of clothing shops, and pensioners strolled undisturbed from all the buzzing down the aisles.  
Mimi strode briskly through the crowds; she apparently knew where the new shop was located.  
In the middle of the second floor, there was a tiny booth wedged between a fast food branch and a flight of stairs. Nothing special, one would assume. The throngs of people queuing up to it, however, begged to differ.  
  
  “Do you see the end of the queue?” Mimi asked as she wasn’t as blessed with such a fine overview as Taichi was.  
  “Ugh, I think it’s going all the way to the toilet entrance.”  
  
Mimi sighed but didn’t seem to mind. Probably because she had her phone to distract her. Just before they headed for the end of the queue, Taichi caught a glimpse of the barista (the only one!) tending behind the counter. A rather diminutive person - he wasn’t sure if it was a boy or a girl, but definitely quite young - with curly red hair cut short and delicate pale skin whirled between the coffee machine and the counter top.  
Taichi felt his cheeks burn and quickly looked away, to discover that he had lost Mimi in the crowd. Thankfully, she sported a pale pink at the moment so she was easy to find even in a place like this. He snuck his way through the shoppers and stepped next to her in the line.  
  
  “Well, is the barista cute?” she asked without looking up from the phone.  
  
“How-“ Taichi only managed before he felt the heat creeping up his neck again. Then he noticed that Mimi didn’t want to tease him, she was genuinely curious.  
“I - I don’t know. They’re, uhm, very short?” he informed her, leaving out the details for reasons unknown to him.  
  
She snorted. “Everyone is short to you, Hagrid.”

Finally, but after less time than Taichi had expected, they approached the counter. Mimi had not been joking. The place only offered Espresso, Cappuccino, Hot Chocolate and Tea, though one could choose from a small range of flavors here. The pastries on offer were chocolate and lemon cupcakes. Very puritan, but it apparently worked.  
Only now Taichi dared to glance down at the barista, who appeared to be a boy, at least two or three years younger than Taichi. Internally, he was furious. How could the manager leave a teenager in charge of such a big rush? A teenager, for Christ’s sake!  
  
The barista greeted them with what seemed to be a true smile. “Hello, what would you like to have?” His voice was high, but pleasantly so, and with his fine cut features he looked even more gorgeous than from afar. Taichi noticed that the name tag read Koushirou.  
  
Mimi was already ordering before he had fully processed the question.  
  
  “Uhm, I’d like to have a double Espresso and a lemon cupcake, please” he said. Then he added “How can you manage this all on your own? Today must have been hell.” One could maybe make Taichi easily blush, but he still knew how to make conversation, even when embarrassed.  
  
The barista shrugged. “It was okay. You know, you just have to stick to your calculations and be very efficient, then it all runs smoothly.”  
  
Taichi thought he had misheard. “Calculations? What kind of?”  
  
While handing him his coffee, the barista answered “On how long to take for every step of the procedure. I have even added some spare time, just in case someone makes unnecessary but welcome small talk.” He winked.  
  
Taichi blushed to the roots of his wild brown hair and stuttered a thank you, then trotted off to where Mimi was waiting. She giggled when she saw his red face.  
  
“He _is_ cute! At least when one falls for boys, that is.” She linked her arm with his and pulled him away. Taichi was able to catch another glimpse of the forbiddingly attractive barista. He already went through every possible excuse to come to the TOC every day from now on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Taichi misjudges Koushirou's age here, he just thinks he's so young because of his fragile appearance.  
> \---  
> Whenever I ship Taichi with Koushirou and Mimi makes an appearance, you can assume that she dates Sora. Digimon Tri: Soushitsu made the idea very tempting.


	3. 15.08. Superhero AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Sora steals Taichi’s moment of heroism.

 

 There was a crash. A big bang that boomed over the whole town. People looked up, astounded and curious. Then their eyes widened in horror as they saw two burning plane wrecks, that had collided seconds earlier, falling down at them at a speed one could hardly comprehend. Some onlookers sought refuge under roofs or in cars, even under trees, but most of them just stared up in the sky at the terror that was coming for them. When the planes were merely a hundred metres away, many decided to shut their eyes. It was to big a fright to face, really. They waited for the impact.And waited.And waited.

There was no impact. No wounded crying. No stench of smoking ruins and burning kerosene. The braver ones dared to look up. Were the planes had been minutes ago there was just empty sky. They exchanged confused glances until the sirens of fire engines broke the strained silence. Some speculated about what had just occurred, others started to walk over to the cornfield where police cars, ambulances and fire engines had gathered.

The plane wrecks lay there as if they had been put down by the hand of a friendly giant. There were lives lost, of course, mostly those who had the misfortune to sit in the first quarter of each aircraft. But through some kind of miracle many of those already doomed had survived.

At the hem of a forest that stretched between the city and the river, a young woman sat on a tree trunk, her red hair sparkling in the sunlight, and gazed over to the field were the relief forces busied themselves saving passengers. She turned her head and looked at the burns on her hands where she had touched the smouldering metal. They were already fading.  
Behind her twigs cracked under heavy footsteps. She turned around, bracing herself for a possible attack. A tall young man stepped out of the bushes, his mane of brown hair adorned by round aviator goggles. He wore a tight-fitting blue and orange costume and a disgruntled look on his face. A smile tucked at one corner of her mouth. He might be annoyed but he was no danger.

  
  “Who the hell do you think you are? I could have handled both of the planes by myself, thank you very much.” He stood in front of her, first hands on his hips and leaning in, than crossing them in front of his chest.

She sniggered, making him more irritated.  
  “I’m Superwoman; it is my job to rescue people that can be rescued.”

  
He rolled his eyes. “Superwoman, my arse” he said under his breath and looked away.

  
She stood up, smoothing her red mini skirt and her cape. “And who are you, when the question is permitted?”

  
He shot her an angry look, then stared past her again.  
  “Goggle Boy”, he muttered.

  
“Pardon me, what was that?”

  
He sighed. “Fine. I’m Goggle Boy.” He looked at her again and rolled his eyes.

She tried to keep herself together but failed. In the next moment she burst into vigorous laughter, bending over and wiping the tears from her eyes.  
  “And, Goggle _Boy_ , how old are you? Twelve but trapped in the body of a twenty-year-old?”

  
  “I’ve been thinking about changing it to Goggle Man for some time now but that sounds even more ridiculous, don’t you think?” he admitted, his bad mood dissolving little by little. He even felt tempted to join her laughter if the joke hadn’t been on him.

  
  She caught her breath and gained back her self-control. “I’m sorry for mocking you. What do you think about getting coffee after we’ve changed back into our incognito personas?” She extended a hand. “I’m Sora.”

  
  He finally smiled wholeheartedly and took it. “I’m Taichi, nice to meet you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what do you think of Taichi’s superhero persona?


	4. 16.08. Fantasy AU - Twilight AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Sora is a witch and makes a trip to Seattle with Taichi.

Evelyn Hewett was on her way to the airport to pick up her sisters. Well, directly related to her by blood was only one of them, but who cared about that? The others were her witch sisters; if you wanted to strain a relation, then it was that created by magic, spanning the continents and connecting them in a distant yet also close way. It was rather hard to explain, actually. But she didn’t need explanations, to her it all made sense and that was all that mattered.

She reached the airport just on time, fecking traffic keeping her up. Eve cursed under her breath; she always preferred to be earlier. Pushing people a little rudely out of her way, she reached the arrival gate where a cluster of tourists clogged the gates. Another curse escaped her lips. Slow humans were not the group of people she liked to surround herself with, to put it mildly. She shoved a few more folks to the side, when she suddenly collided with someone in her hurry. Before she could utter yet another swear-word, she was embraced in a strong hug. You wouldn’t assume that the red-haired girl who held Eve so tightly bore so much strength. Eve gasped a little, then wriggled out of the enfold and smiled widely.

“Sora! I finally found you! Or well, you found me. Anyway, welcome to Washington! You know that I’m not thinking too highly of national states, so I leave it at that.”

Eve looked Sora up and down, then something behind her guest caught her attention. A rather towering boy stood there, his most prominent feature was a mane of brown hair that looked as if he had just reached for the socket. His gleaming smile was almost blinding her, but she was immune against such approaches. She eyed him suspiciously.

“Do you want to introduce me to your companion?” she asked Sora, glancing between her and the boy.

“Yes, of course! Sorry that I forgot. That is Taichi.” She didn’t give any more explanations but Eve had been around enough couples by now that she could tell that both of them were hopelessly in love with each other. Finally, she gave up her defensive behaviour and extended her hand. She didn’t flinch when Taichi shook it with ferocity.

“It is very nice to meet you, Taichi. But one question is bothering me. Can you speak?” The question seemed legitimate as he hadn’t said a single word up to now. It nearly appeared as if he was solely communicating by his broad smile and the mass of his hair. Eve even suspected, grabbed by one of her silly moods, that it might also lead a life of its own.

He burst into a boisterous laugh as if he had read her ridiculous thoughts. “I like you, Eve. Yeah, I can talk but I didn’t want to interrupt you.”

“Ha!” Sora exclaimed and pointed at him. “You and not interrupting people. You’re the first to do and once you started talking you can hardly stop.”

He made a fake-frown, then smiled his 1000-Watt-smile again and said “Should we get going? I’m pretty hungry to be honest.”

Sora’s lips curled into a smile again and she leaned into Eve. “It’s not like he hadn’t something to eat only an hour ago. But bear with him, that’s just his nature.”

Eve smiled in return. “Never mind, I know this one. Embry’s just the same.” She stood upright and looked apologetically to Taichi. “I’m sorry, but we have to wait for another sister of ours and one of myself. They’re both on a plane from Boston that is supposed to land-“ she glanced over to the arrival table “-in twenty minutes and it looks as if they’re even making it earlier than planned. So if you can keep your hunger at bay just a little longer, I will take you all for lunch. You okay with that?”

He nodded. “That sounds like a plan. But what I can’t keep at bay is my bladder.”

Sora giggled and Eve rolled her eyes. “The toilets are this way” she said and indicated the direction. He bowed and rushed off. Sora couldn’t stop giggling.

“He seems like a good-natured lad to me. I’d say you made an agreeable choice.” Eve remarked.

Sora nodded. “Oh, yeah, I’m really lucky to have him. He’s sometimes hell-bent on getting his way but usually the plans he makes work out in his favour.”

Eve nodded solemnly, but before she could respond, an announcement resounded through the hall, pronouncing the arrival of the flight from Boston.

“Oh! Here we go! I can’t wait for you to meet Brittany. She’s just as weird as I am, but in a totally different way.”

Sora raised an eyebrow. She wasn’t sure if she could deal with two Evelyns at the same time. But thankfully there was also Constanze to help her out if things went really frantic.   
They both turned expectantly towards the gates, where slowly new travellers trickled in, many of them looking confused and disorientated around. Only two people seemed to be perfectly familiar with the surroundings at the Seattle airport; they walked briskly through the crowd, both having a cheery smile on their faces.

“ConCon!” Eve cried out and fell around the neck of a dark-haired, average-heighted curvy girl. She winced when she was addressed like that, and Sora made a sympathetic face. This was truly a cringy nickname.   
As soon as Eve had unstuck herself from her German witch sister, she approached the young woman behind Constanze with a little more calm, but was delighted nonetheless. 

“I’m very thankful that you don’t try to strangle me like you did with Constanze” Brittany remarked, her hair a jolly bubble-gum pink and her clothing a wild mix of every possible style.

“You’re just my sister-in-blood, not in magic, you know. I’m still very happy to see you, though.”  
Eve turned to Constanze. “Please excuse my outburst. I can never fully restrain myself when I see you.”

She chuckled, then looked around their little club. “We appear to be complete. Why don’t we go and get some lunch? I’m starving, there was just a light ‘snack’ on this flight, consisting of two crackers and some crumbly cheese.” She furrowed her brows when Eve and Sora shook their heads in unison.

“We’re not complete yet” Sora explained. “We’re still missing my boyfriend. He just wanted to go to the toilet but he seems to be lost. He went there like twenty minutes ago.”   
Just then a familiar energetic laughter rang over to them.

“Well, I think we found him” Eve said with an unmoved face whereas Sora dissolved into hearty laughter. The two newcomers were nearly startled to death as they were pushed to the sides when someone shoved between them and laid his arms around them.

“You’re the two laggards, I suppose? Nice to meet you, I’m Taichi.”

They craned their necks up to his lofty height and were not really sure what to make of him.

Brittany was the first to regain her composure. As the oldest of the group, she wouldn’t be intimidated by someone who was still a teenager. She ducked out from under his arm and extended a hand instead. “The pleasure is all mine, I’m Brittany, Eve’s ‘real’ sister.”

“And I’m Constanze, another witch sister. Just one thing: don’t you dare call me ConCon! If you keep that in mind, we can become good friends.”

Taichi nodded, the smile still glued on his face. “Now, I’d say: Off for lunch!”

Eve raised her arm pretending to hold a flag used to lead tourist groups around, and marched off to the exit.

 ***

Eve drove on and on, first leaving the inner city and then its suburbs behind. Taichi’s glare grew gloomier and gloomier, his stomach rattled impatiently. Sora took his hand and stroked it, trying to calm him. Constanze radiated unease and irritation as well. Brittany sensed the general tense atmosphere. She turned to her sister.

“Hermione, where are you going? People are hungry, you know.”

Eve’s face stayed unmoved. “Just a few more minutes.”

Taichi groaned in response and was about to say something agitated, but a tiny nod from Sora stopped him. But she really hoped that they would reach their destination soon, wherever this was going to be.  
Just then, Eve took a sudden right turn at the next junction and plunged into the woods. Constanze jumped at the sudden change of surroundings. Eve just smiled.

After another mile, she stopped at a gate that forbade the entrance but for pedestrians. She cut the engine and got out of the car, walking to the back. Confused, her guests followed her to the now open trunk.   
“Ta-da!” She spread her arms wide and presented them several baskets and coolers full of food. “We’re going to have a picnic!”

Taichi let out a relieved laughter and Constanze sighed thankfully.   
“Eve, don’t do this ever again. Food is serious business” she accused her semi-seriously while taking one of the baskets.

Eve smirked and grabbed the last cooler, then shut the trunk door. She led the way to a small clearing where wild flowers stood in full bloom.   
It was one of those days when the sun had hidden behind big-bellied clouds that threatened rain, but it was never obvious when this was going to happen.

“Now, blankets are in your basket, Sora, and cups, cutlery and tableware in yours, ConCon. The sausages and pickled vegetables along with dips and sauces are in yours, Taichi, and-“ she frowned and gave Britanny’s cooler a thorough look, “-ah, yes, of course, the drinks are in yours. And I have the cake. Boy, therefore that vampires don’t eat human food, they are excellent bakers. Honestly, I could kill for one of Esme’s marble cakes” Eve explained.

Sora put down the blankets and knelt on them, helping Constanze laying out the dishes and cutlery. Taichi stood a little forlorn at the side, looking confused at the contents of his cooler.

“Erm, Eve?”

“Yes?”

“These are raw sausages.”

“I know. And?”

“Well, we need fire to fry them, don’t we?”

“Yes, I know. It’s not the first time I’m preparing a barbecue.”

“But...where is the brazier?”

Eve’s face lit up. “How long have you and Sora been together now? You don’t seem to be very familiar with witches. Sora, would you be so kind and gather some firewood?”

Instead of getting up and walking over to the edge of the clearing, as Taichi expected, Sora just fixed her gaze on a couple of trees. Low clattering could be heard, then a bundle of twigs rose out of the bushes and levitated lazily over to them. It landed right at Taichi’s feet who was too startled to say something. Sora, however, was not done yet. First she set some sticks aside, then added to his bewilderment when she conjured a small flame around her right hand and held it against the twigs, setting them ablaze instantaneously despite them being quite moist.

“See, no need for a brazier or some such rubbish. Saves us extra weight and waste. Now, Sora, have you never practised around him?” Eve wanted to know as this seemed rather odd to her.

“ I actually do, but only really small things. He’s probably just never noticed before.”

Eve shot Taichi an indecipherable look, then handed him a little bowl with a yoghurt dip and a baguette. “The sausages and vegetables will take a while over the fire. So here you have something to satisfy your hunger.” She turned to Constanze and gave her some, too. When she offered Sora and Brittany pieces of bread, they politely declined.

After a few bites, Constanze started skewering up sausages and vegetable pieces on the remaining twigs and stuck them around the fire.   
A heavy drop of rain splattered right into one of the dip bowls, leaving a crater in the yoghurt. Soon more followed.

Taichi grunted. “And I have not even had my lunch yet.”

Constanze chuckled. “You are really not acquainted with magic, are you?” With a simple flip of her fingers, the rain immediately stopped.

Taichi’s eyes went as large as saucers. “You can even control the weather? Sora, why did you never tell me? That is so cool!”

Sora smiled. “Well, I’ll try to remember that for the future. But we’re not controlling the weather. Constanze has merely erected a shield dome above us.”

Taichi nodded appreciatively. Then he pulled Sora in his lap and nuzzled his face in the bend of her neck. She giggled but soon a breathy moan slipped from her lips. He kissed a line from her collarbone up to her earlobe. Her moans grew louder.

Constanze and Brittany exchanged amused glances, but Eve looked a little annoyed. She coughed. “Ehem, I’m sorry to interrupt your couple time but you’re going to have much more time, and privacy I may say, when we are back home. The Cullens were so kind to offer you accommodation. Brit and ConCon will stay in our house, but there is just not enough space for all of you.”

Taichi and Sora looked at each other, then it dawned to her.   
“Oh, I’m sorry, I forgot that you are asexual.”

Eve sighed. “That doesn’t mean I’m a killjoy to all things sexual. I just don’t understand it, so if you wouldn’t mind delaying your affection for each other, you’ll later have the opportunity to fool around as long as you like. The beds in the Cullens’s mansion are exquisite for such activities, or so people say.”

She winked, Sora blushed and Taichi chuckled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is set in the universe of my Twilight fanfiction [Bis(s) zur Dämmerung, also posted here] so if you’re confused on the characters just shoot me an ask.  
> I bent the ages a little to make them all - except Brittany - around the same age which in canon is not the case. Eve is born 1993, Constanze 1994, Brittany 1991 but Sora and Taichi 1988.


	5. 17.08. Sci Fi AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Taichi and Koushirou visit Yamato in space.

„Now isn’t that a beautiful view!“ Koushirou remarked in awe as he gazed out of the window.

„You know what else is beautiful?“ Taichi said in a tone that made Koushirou’s hair stand to attention. Taichi leaned forward and his breath tickled the skin behind Koushirou’s ear.

“You.“

Koushirou blushed. This was not the most elegant of compliments, and he in general didn’t like to be overcome by his feelings. So he sat up straight, but didn’t dare to turn around to Taichi, fearing that the little teasing smile that would surely grace his lips would confuse him even more.

„Be serious, Taichi.“

„I am.“ he replied in a jokingly grave tone.

Koushirou sighed. „I know. But can you, just for once, take your eyes away from me and look out of that window? No matter how often I see space I’m always stunned by it.“

He felt Taichi’s lips against his cheek, making him blush furiously again, then Taichi leaned over him and looked out of the window. He had forgotten his self-confidence at once, being too enraptured by the universe stretching out around the space ship. They hovered above the Mars colony where Yamato had been sent as a pioneer years ago, and now they were paying him a visit. Currently there was a bit of a jam down at the space ship station, that’s why they were floating above it in circles, waiting for the permission to land.

After waiting for another half hour, they finally set down and emerged into the climatized domes. Yamato already expected them in the arrival area of the station. He waved when they came into view. Taichi smirked and put one arm around Koushirou, causing him to blush. He really needed to do something against his body reacting so obviously to emotions. Then he looked at Yamato whose eyes were as wide as saucers.

“Now when did that happen?” he approached them without a proper greeting.

“It wasn’t that long ago” Taichi replied casually but Koushirou rolled his eyes.

 “It’s been five years!”

Taichi shrugged. “Oh well, time is really just a concept, isn’t it? Anyway, it’s been a while that we’ve seen each other, Yama. How are you doing?”

“I’m currently assigned on watching over the gardens.”

Taichi raised an eyebrow, mocking. “I never knew gardening was any of your talents.”

Yamato in turn furrowed his brow. “As you said, we haven’t seen each other in quite a while. I don’t know what you did in those years but I have continued my training. It’s actually necessary to be proficient in more than one realm. After I helped bringing the colony over the crucial first year, I changed into maintenance for the space ships before I was asked to assist in the gardens a few months ago,” he explained as he led the way through the glass tunnels connecting the domes that spread over a wide area on the northern hemisphere of the red planet.

 “I don’t know what you were implying earlier but we weren’t idle, either. I’m now coach of the Japanese U21 team. And Koushirou here - “ Taichi stopped when he caught Koushirou’s glance. “Oh, right, you can speak for yourself.”

“Yes, I can, Taichi. Well spotted. I’m the assistant of the CEO of a well-known software company that you probably don’t know as it had been founded after you left.”

Yamato nodded approvingly. “Well done, Kou. And also, Taichi”, he admitted a little reluctantly but just out of the habit of teasing his best friend. Secretly, he was pleased to hear that they were both successful.

 He stopped in front of the door to one of the lower-roofed domes. To the right there was a panel in the shape of a hand. Yamato stepped to it and put his right hand on it. It glowed green and the door slid to the side. Before them, a room in light green and white appeared. On the left was Yamato’s office area consisting of an ergonomic office chair and a desk underneath a large window offering a magnificent view over a red-dusted valley. Behind a curtain, as Yamato revealed, stood a three-bunk-bed and a large wardrobe. And on the right was a small booth that contained the bathroom. 

“So, this is our room for the next weeks. As you may have noticed, we have more traffic around here than usual. That’s why I couldn’t organize a separate room for you, just a three-bunk-bed. I hope you don’t mind that?”

Taichi scrunched his face; he had hoped that they could have a room to themselves. But Koushirou had already answered “Never mind, we will definitely manage” so Taichi submitted to his fate.  
Yamato then left them with a map of the colony and went back to the gardens. Instead of going right away on a sightseeing tour, Taichi flopped on the lowest bunk, stretching his impossible long limbs in all directions.

“So we have the room all to ourselves for the next hours, Kou. Why don’t we make ourselves comfortable until dinner time?” he asked with a raunchy smile.

Koushirou blushed and, to sort out his thoughts, looked out of the window. “But I would really like to explore the colony. I’m most interested in how they handle their electronics here, as you can imagine.”

Taichi shook his head. They were on holidays, after all.   
“We still have time for this tomorrow. Plenty of time. Come on, you have to admit that we hardly see each other back home. You’re always stuck in the office until late and I have to travel around the country with the team. Or do you not want to be with me anymore?” He knew it was unfair to doubt Koushirou’s love and loyalty for him, but it worked always in his favour. Like now.

Koushirou looked at him again, first in his face, then his eyes trailed over Taichi’s well-toned body that was showing under the tight t-shirt he wore. “You’re probably right. Plenty of time tomorrow for this” he mumbled and rushed into Taichi’s arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is, like, the only time I approve of the career Toei has in mind for Yamato. That doesn’t mean I stick to canon for everybody, though ;) 
> 
> Partly inspired by this: http://moosopp-art.tumblr.com/post/157497280282/relationship-goals


	6. 18.08. Profession AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Sora is Taichi’s new colleague and their boss organizes a “bonding event” to bring the team closer - and it goes horribly wrong.

It was a bleary Monday morning, much too early to function and the coffee machine had gone defunct. Again. Everyone groaned and grunted as they gathered in the meeting room where their boss had ordered them to come.

“Good morning everybody” she said much too cheery. “I hope everyone had a great weekend and we can start afresh and motivated into the new week. You will also have something you can look forward to.”

“Yes, the next weekend, to drown our misery in gallons of Gin Tonic”, Taichi muttered and the few of his co-workers standing near him laughed.

Their boss overheard it, or at least pretended so, and continued. “On Friday, after the end of the work day, we will all go to an Escape Room as an after work treat. Recently, we have employed many new consultants and we want to give you all the chance to get to know each other better. That’s why we will now draw the lot. The number you pick will be the group in which you will be attending the game.”  
She went around, holding out the box for everyone to pull a scrap out of it.   
Taichi had drawn the number one.

When everyone had a number, the boss unveiled a flip chart were the numbers from one to five were written on it. “Please, everybody put their name under their respective number and, _please_ , form a line.” It was indeed necessary to add this as everyone had already prepared themselves to rush forward at the same instant.

***

On Friday afternoon, the whole department trudged off to the nearest tram station, no one in fact was in the mood for some “bonding games”, as their boss had liked to call it. Some had speculated on pretending to forget, but this proved to be impossible. Constant reminding e-mails had flooded their inboxes and after the Friday lunch break they had found a neatly hand-written invitation card on each of their desks. This, however, didn’t stoke the anticipation for the event; on the contrary, they all just wanted it to be over. Now.

So, after a silent tram ride, they arrived at an old and stately red-brick building at the edge of the town’s park. Their boss herded them into the airy entrance hall, where she ordered them to separate into the groups they had established on Monday. Taichi saw himself surrounded by Iori, the shiest person of the ward, Miyako who was the most intelligent of his co-workers, and one of the new consultants, a red-haired woman with a motherly expression. She came over to him and bowed slightly, greeting him.

“Hello, my name is Sora Takenouchi. I started working here only two weeks ago.”

He smiled and extended a hand. Though not the slightest intrigued by the prospect of solving a riddle like a ten-year-old, he wanted to start on good terms with his, admittedly rather attractive, new co-worker. If she behaved like an old shrew, he could leave her alone soon enough.   
“My pleasure. I’m Taichi Yagami. I actually have more fun plans for a Friday afternoon than playing detective in a closed room” he replied, flashing her a smile to show her that this was way below his level, and hopefully, below hers, too. But he was wrong.

“What, like drowning your misery in gallons of Gin Tonic?”

He scrunched his face, not believing that she really remembered the remark from Monday morning.

“You will be surprised, those things are actually fun. The colleagues from my old place and I went there once, and we had to investigate a Mafia hiding place and who had murdered them all. All this was fictional, of course, but, mind you, when you’re knee deep in a very realistic setting you can easily forget that and start dreading the arrival of more Mafia members with every minute passing by.”

Taichi was not yet convinced but just then the head of the Escape Room appeared. He all gave them blindfolds and then herded them out of the vestibule.

“Your task today is to find out what your suspicious neighbour is up to. You have sixty minutes to search through his garage. Should you not manage to do so, he will catch you in the act and nobody knows how he will react but it will be probably rather unpleasant. So hurry but don’t rush through your investigations or you’ll miss crucial details.” With that he left the room and locked the door.

They took off their blindfolds and saw themselves surrounded by a very authentic garage. The walls were lined with shelves and low sideboards on which stood tools and other car maintaining equipment. Nothing seemed off at first but then they turned and looked at the gate. A map of the city was pinned to it, covering it completely. Threads of red, green and blue wool spanned over it, twisting and entwining on several points marked by thumbtacks. It was not obvious what the threads or pins meant but it was clear to them that it certainly wasn’t something pleasant or legal.

Taichi, who always felt a little like an alpha, clapped his hands to get the others’ attention. He had totally forgotten his dislike for the whole undertaking. “Right! Whatever this Mr Wheeny is up to, we will find out and probably also sabotage it while we’re at it. I suggest that Miyako and Iori have a look at the map to collect as much information as possible from there. Sora and I” he turned to her to wait for her consent. When she nodded, he continued “will sort through the shelves and cupboards. We still have fifty-five minutes left; that should give us enough time. Let’s go!”

Miyako and Iori were already at the map, studying it carefully. Miyako had managed to sneak a pocket book and pencil inside, and she was now turned with her back to the installed camera to hide the notepad from view, as such aids were actually not permitted. Iori whispered to her, examining a huddle of thumbtacks in the upper left hand corner. Sora had knelt down in front of the very right hand cupboard and was pulling out drawers. Taichi did the same on the opposite side. In the first two of Sora’s cabinets there wasn’t anything suspicious. Spanners, screwdrivers and a small set of scissors was all she could find. But when she opened the first drawer of the next sideboard she let out a small gasp, loud enough for Taichi to hear. The other two were too engrossed in their study of the map to pay attention to it.

“What is it?” Taichi asked, subdued excitement showing in his voice.

“These are German newspaper clippings from the 70s” she said and sorted through them. “About the... RAF? What is the RAF?” She turned to Miyako and Iori. “Hey, any of you capable of speaking German?”

 Miyako didn’t even seem to listen but Iori turned and nodded, then walked over to them. He scanned the articles and his face went pale. “So, from what I get is that the RAF - Red Army Party - were a left-wing terrorist group in the FRG in the 1970s. Their procedure was to kidnap people, famous and not famous, and blackmail the government. They also committed several murders.”

Sora and Taichi looked at each other in shock. Miyako, undisturbed from it all, finally trudged over and beamed at them. “The points marked on the map are all places critical to the public. They include the town hall, several administration buildings and from what I know also the homes of several politicians and famous people. I just don’t know yet in which way they are related. But I’ll get to that now. I mean, we still have nearly forty minutes left. What do you have here?” Still oblivious to her surroundings, she grabbed the clippings.

 Sora, Taichi and Iori exchanged worried glances. It had dawned on them all simultaneously that the places on the map could be scenes of possible crimes. Taichi opened his mouth to say something when, suddenly, they could clearly hear a car outside. But that was impossible. At least, they thought it so. They still considered themselves somewhere near the vestibule in the big brick building they had entered about an hour and a half ago. Frozen to the spot they stood as the gate slowly started to roll upwards.

Strong legs in dark denim and worn cowboy boots came into view. They watched in horror, unable to move, as the gate - a real garage gate, not just a replica in play room - gradually revealed a hunky man in a light blue shirt and with a huge brown moustache. He had narrowed his eyes.

“What the hell?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This idea came up in a talk between a friend and I after someone gave us a leaflet for such an Escape Room. Only the ending presented itself spontaneously while writing this piece.


	7. 19.08. Soulmate AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Sora and Taichi find each other as soul mates but in a quite unorthodox way.

It was a rainy Sunday morning and Sora sat at the kitchen table, watching her mom flipping over pancakes.  She had tied her hair up and Sora once again envied her for the mark on her neck. Numbers were tattooed there in a thin line, a longitude and latitude that marked the birthplace of her soul mate. That wasn’t her dad; Sora had learned that long ago. Sora’s mom couldn’t remember where she had met him, but she remembered the date.   
 It had been only two years after Sora’s birth, they had been on their way back from the hospital; Sora’s health hadn’t been in the best shape in her first two years. In the morning before the appointment her mom didn’t have the tattoo, and in the evening she noticed it after the shower. In the meantime, they had been in the hospital, in the metro stations, they were even grocery shopping. A lot of possible places to get in contact with them. Sora’s mom never bothered to find them; she never questioned her life and didn’t want to imagine how it _could_ have been.   
Sora had decided that she wouldn’t proceed like that. When Sora ever found coordinates on her neck, she would turn every stone to find the person. Not that her mom wasn’t happy with her life - even though Sora had given her some hard times. But Sora wanted to erase every _what if_ , she wanted to be the happiest she could ever be.   
  
“What are your plans for today, Sora?” her mom asked when she handed her the pancakes.

“Taichi is going to have an indoor soccer tournament, we will all be there.”

“Oh that is nice. Tell him good luck from me.”

“I will. Mom, the pancakes are delicious!” Sora sometimes still felt a pang of guilt about the fights she had with her mom when she was younger. So she tried her best to make it up.   
Her mom smiled and reached for her hand.

“And what are you going to do today?” Sora asked.

“Not much, I am going to read a good book and will listen to some music. It will be a lazy day.”

“That is fine, too. Really, you’ve deserved it. Have fun with it” Sora said and she meant it. She stuffed the last pieces of pancake in her mouth because she had realized she was uncharacteristically late; then she rushed off, quickly brushing her teeth, and grabbed her bag.

Taichi was already down in the pitch so she didn’t have the chance to greet him. The rest of the gang sat in the middle of the bleachers waving and cheering at her.

“Sora, how come you are late? You never are.” Mimi remarked and tapped the spot next to her.

“I was having quality time with mom” she explained.

Mimi hugged her, understanding. “That is also very important.”

The referee whistled and the first game began with Taichi’s team in it. He was magnificent. Every assist reached his fellow players; every shot at the goal hit the net. The opponent players mostly just saw a blurry figure flying past. In the end, they won 5:0, and it could have been higher.   
Breathlessly, Taichi climbed the stairs.

“Sora!” he exclaimed vibrantly when he saw her. He leaned down to hug her but then remembered that he was sweat-soaked so he just waved. Sora smiled brightly in return and had the sudden urge to touch him, despite him being so sweaty. But she left it at the wave and watched fondly as Taichi easily settled between their friends, receiving congratulations. She leaned forward and listened as he recalled the match. Taichi never took his talent or his great performance for granted; he was always rather humble about it. When he turned around to address Koushirou was when she saw it. Taichi had coordinates printed on his neck. She had never noticed them before but smiled at the discovery and decided on asking him about them after the tournament.

Taichi’s team won the tournament, as expected. His friends cheered for him when he came up to them after the shower. Now he saw himself fit to get hugged, and he made excessive use of it. Sora was the first to hug him and she couldn’t help but think, after observing the rest of the group, that he might have embraced her for the longest. But she could be wrong. They left for lunch and ended up in an Indian restaurant having curry. Taichi and Sora sat beside each other. When everyone was busily chatting, she thought it an ideal moment to ask him.

“So, it seems that you have found your soul mate, haven’t you?” she asked and leaned in on him.

“Huh? Oh because of the tattoo on my neck?”

She nodded.

 A cheeky smile appeared on his face.   
“Why don’t you look the coordinates up?”

She eyed him with a suspicious look but he seemed to be dead serious.    
“Fine.” She pulled out her phone and typed them into the map. After a moment, a place showed up which was oddly familiar to her.   
“This is the Nerima General Hospital. That’s where you were born. And millions of other people. That’s not really helpful.”

She looked at him and discovered that he had a sheepish expression on his face. “Would you mind accompanying me outside?”

She was confused, but nodded, and followed him outside the restaurant.   
“So?”

”When do you think I first saw this tattoo on my neck?”

“I don’t know. I just noticed it today.”

He smiled at her in a warm way, it lacked his usual cheeriness, it was calmer and more mature. “That was very early.” He paused. “That was the day after I met you for the first time.”

Sora was stunned. She couldn’t really process this information, she just stared at him, at his sweet hazel eyes and the familiar features she’s gotten to know by now like the back of her hand.  
But when Taichi was her soul mate, why didn’t she have his coordinates stamped on the back of her neck?

He had noticed the shift in her expression. “What is it?”

“I - I was just wondering why I don’t have a mark.”

He took her hand. “Every one in ten million people find their soul mate but don’t have a mark. Maybe you’re one of them.”

She nodded slowly. “You’re probably right, but then what do we do with this information?”   
He had been worried that she would refuse him right away. But she had asked him with a shy yet encouraging smile.

“Make the best of it? Take it slowly, definitely. In whichever way you’re comfortable with it.”  
Now she smiled genuinely; then she hugged him.

***

Years later, Taichi and Sora had been living in the countryside for a while with their children, they were in the garden, Sora weeding out the strawberries and Taichi shearing the hedge. She looked up when she didn’t hear the clippers anymore. She saw that he was gazing expectantly at her.

“I have a confession to make”, he said, sheepishly.

She smiled. “Shoot it then.”

He grabbed the handle of the scissors tighter. “Do you remember when you noticed the mark on me and I said I had it since the day I met you?”

She nodded, his tone making her smile falter a little.

“That wasn’t true. I had gotten it only recently before.”

“What do you mean, ‘gotten it’? It appeared then?”

“No, I had it tattooed there. I didn’t want to meet a random stranger who might be my soul mate but who would’ve never known me the way you did.”

“Then why didn’t you just say so.”

“I thought that if you ever met your soul mate you would run off with them.”

Sora was speechless. It wasn’t that she didn’t love him. She did, with all the might of her heart. And she believed that he loved her, too. Just…This confession, it had caught her completely off guard. She needed time to think.  
She threw her gardening gloves to the ground and ran out of the gate and out of sight.

“Sora? Sora!”


	8. 20.08. Time Period AU - Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Sora slips into the role of Miss Phryne Fisher, 1920s Melbourne’s most remarkable private detective, and Taichi is her dutiful partner in crime, Detective Jack Robinson.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Additional Warning: Rape and abuse mentioned.

The Honorable Miss Sora Takenouchi, private detective extraordinaire, poured tea into a delicate piece of china, then set the pot aside and eyed her counterpart in the other well-cushioned green armchair.

“Inspector Yagami-“

“I thought you had transcended the stage where you called me by my last name.”

She raised an eyebrow.   
“I don’t like it when people interrupt me, not even the intelligent and admittedly handsome Detective Inspector of the City South Police. But, as you wish, Taichi” she stressed his name more than was necessary “how are the investigations going? Takeru found himself quite unable to tell me the details.”

The detective coughed. He should have known that Miss Takenouchi had not invited him just for a relaxed cup of tea and an idle chat. The look she was giving him meant business. Still, he had walked in here, dewy-eyed, and had taken the steaming mug she had offered him. When he was here, he always felt like a sailor on a rough sea, and she was the siren, drawing him to her rocks, were his doom was waiting. It has never been deadly with her, though, at least not here in her grand mansion in one of the suburban streets of Melbourne.

“Well, the commissioner wants to have Mr Motomiya arrested by the end of the day as he has a believable alibi missing.”

“But Taichi, we both know that there’s also something else missing: a motive and the circumstances of when or where he could have acquired the poison. He is a simple dock worker, not a pharmacist or of any similar profession.” After the word “pharmacist”, Sora’s voice slowed and she looked at Taichi with realization dawning in her eyes. Taichi had comprehended as well and was already at his feet.

“I will call Takeru and tell him to go straight to Miss Inoue’s house. We will meet him there.” He rushed over to the telephone.

 Sora hurried into the kitchen to inform her housekeeper, Mr Gennai, that they were off to catch a possible murderer.  
She met the detective in the entrance hall where she threw over a superbly sequined black coat and put a matching hat with feathers at the side on her accurately combed red bob. Taichi held open the door for her, they got into the police car and drove off with determination.

Sergeant Takeru Takaishi waited for them in a side alley of Miss Inoue’s pharmacy.

“She has just sent her apprentice home so she is alone in there. Do you think it has been her?” he asked his boss as they exited the car. When he saw Miss Takenouchi, he tapped his helmet and greeted her, then followed the detective to the side entrance.

“Takaishi, open the door for me. We will approach her from behind, you on one side, I will be on the other. Miss Takenouchi -“ he turned around to address her, just to discover that she didn’t stand next to him anymore. He rolled his eyes and swore under his breath.  


The bell over the pharmacy entrance chimed. Miss Inoue turned away from the medication she had been preparing to greet the new customer.

“Good evening, how can I help you, Miss Takenouchi?” Her voice was warm and welcoming, but Sora’s suspicious nature, and the countless missions she had been on by now, told her that this might as well be a perfectly implemented façade.

“Miss Inoue, I was wondering if you could not recommend me a good medicine against back pain. My butler Mr Gennai, well, he’s never complaining but I can sense that he has to deal with some gruesome aches now and then.”

Miss Inoue nodded knowingly, as if she had anticipated the question.   
“Heat always helps. Give him a hot water bottle and some rest, then he should be good. If the pains are ongoing, just come back to me. Or maybe send him right away, if you can spare him for a while.”

Sora noticed a movement in the back room which could be accessed by two door frames that were guarded by pearl curtains. She caught Taichi’s eye and nodded, when Mrs Inoue perched behind the counter to get something. Simultaneously, Taichi and Takeru stepped into the salesroom.  
With surprising speed and strength, the pharmacist shot up from her crouched position, grabbed Sora by the arm and vaulted her over the counter, holding a pistol against Sora’s temple.

“Detective, did you really think I was so naïve and, above all, blind that I wouldn’t anticipate your coming or see your sergeant lingering in the street?”

She held Sora tighter and now pointed the gun at Takeru, then at Taichi.

“Miss Inoue -“ Sora began, but the pharmacist cut her off.

“Quiet, Miss Takenouchi, you’re definitely not better than those men, than all men in fact.” She nearly spat the word “men” out, then continued. “All my life have I’ve been serving men; when my Mom died I had to fill her role because my Dad was too busy drinking himself to madness. When I was sixteen he sold me off to a brothel, and there they were again, greedy men with their hands all over my body which I never wanted. I could escape, but I landed in the arms of a professor who promised me an academic career but you know what he wanted in return? You’ve guessed it, sex. Now that I finally had my own business, my own home, my own _life_ there comes Mr Ishida and threatens to take it all away from me. I could not have let this happen, now could I?”

The question was simply rhetorical, and they were all wise enough not to answer.   
After a pause, Sora tried to calm her.

“Miss Inoue-“

“Don’t! I’m now at a stage in my life where I cannot take it any longer.”

She took the pistol away from Sora’s head and held it against her own. But before she could pull the trigger, Sora had rammed her elbow into Miss Inoue’s stomach. The gun went off, but only shot the lamp above their heads to pieces. Taichi and Takeru were at her sides now, grabbing one arm each and holding her tight between them.

Sora panted and looked compassionately at the pharmacist. “I’m sorry that this happened to you, but you now have taken away all that you’ve worked so hard for by yourself.”  
The police men brought her out to the car in handcuffs.

Sora and Taichi were back at her mansion, sitting in the living room and sipping their whiskeys. After the events of today they had needed something stronger than Earl Grey.

“Taichi, I am really sorry for Miss Inoue. She’d had a hard life, one that is not uncommon, but she managed to escape. Only to be ripped of it again.”

Taichi nodded. “It is truly a shame, but murderer stays murderer. There is not really anything we could do for her now.”


	9. 21.08. Mythology AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Taichi is the tragic figure of Prometheus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Additional Warning: Graphic Depictions of Violence

It has been hell. All those years, every day. He didn’t count them anymore. He was too tired, too sick to do so. Counting days was his least problem when chained to a mountain and getting your guts picked out by an eagle every single day. When the eagle tortured him with its sharp beak, blood spilling everywhere, he wanted nothing than to throw up. But there was nothing he could threw up from. So, he just tilted his head and looked around over the gorgeous mountainside that failed to bring him any joy. When the eagle had done its perilous work the next state of despair came: the re-growing of his bowels. It was nearly as painful as their destruction. Every day he wished it to stop, even if that meant his end. But by now, he was not exactly keen on living anymore.

The sun rose bloody over the mountains, slowly dissolving the fog that had made his night so chilly. He turned his sleepy eyes to survey what lay before him, even though he knew it hadn’t changed since the last time he had glanced at it. In the far distance, he could already see the dark-winged figure fast approaching him. He sighed barely audible and closed his eyes, waiting for the first hit of the beak. But that never came. Instead, he soon heard the steady flap of large wings cutting through the air.  “Hey you! Taichi is your name, is it not?” He opened his eyes and looked into soothing red irises belonging to a particularly graceful specimen of the species that usually brought him so much pain. This change of routine came so abruptly that he didn’t know how to respond. “So the other eagle did not only cut out your intestines but also your tongue and your vocal chords?” He shook his head but before he could respond properly this time, the eagle continued. “Taichi, we do not have much time. I might be no bird but I am also nobody who kills them. The eagle will be conscious soon, so let us hurry.” It flew forward and Taichi already feared the worst, but instead of tearing into his stomach, the eagle picked at the irons chaining him to the mountain. It was a riddle to him how a bird’s beak was supposed to be able destroying iron chains but as long as it freed him from his lofty prison he did not question it.  Soon, he indeed was free and it proved that he was not prepared for a rescue. As soon as the last chain was cut through, he fell of the rough cliff, the ground rapidly converging him. He screamed, it was the first scream in years, and he still screamed when he felt soft feathers beneath him. The eagle crossed the mountain range by flying through its lowest dales and it seemed as if it was dodging something from far above.

Soon, they reached a secret cave, scarcely visible behind all the trees and shrubbery that surrounded it. The eagle gave Taichi a nod, indicating for him to go first. It eyed the sky suspiciously for one last time, then followed him inside. Taichi was so exhausted that he was not interested in snooping around, he just stood there in the middle of the cave. He looked at the eagle when it entered, and was left stunned by what he saw now. In an elegant whirl, the eagle turned into a red-haired woman with a gentle face. She extended her hand. “Hello, my name is Sora.” He took the hand offered to him and shook it, still a little weak. Then he found his voice. “Thank you so much for rescuing me! I owe you so much!”

She just waved. “I will explain it to you later. Why do you not make yourself at home and catch up on all the sleep that you have lost chained to the mountain over all those years?” She showed him the bed covered in sheepskins.

He nearly dared not to ask, but hunger and thirst were overwhelming. “Sora, could I please have some water and food?”

She looked apologetically at him. “Of course! I am sorry I forgot to offer.” She presented him a jug of water and a plate full of fruits.

He wolfed it down greedily, then lay down on the bed and slept instantly.


	10. 22.08. Zombie AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Koushirou is pursued by his roommates that have turned into zombies and Taichi has to come to his rescue.

Koushirou woke up and immediately knew something was off. On Thursday mornings he usually heard one of his neighbours in the apartment rummaging in the corridor, getting ready for university. Today, though, there was nothing but silence. He strained his ears and noticed that this was only half the truth. He heard very quiet but heavy breathing and a sound that resembled nails scratching on a blackboard. Cautiously, he got up, slipped into his scuffs and pulled a shirt over his bare torso. Then, out of a subconscious impulse, he grabbed the long stick he used to arrange the curtains with as he was too short to do it otherwise. He turned the key, opened the door and peered through it.

Silence rang in his ears before he noticed a movement in the corner of his eye. He hurriedly shut the door close and now he could hear it right on the other side. A breathless voice rasped against the door, the words spoken were incomprehensible at first but then Koushirou thought he could pick out the word “brain”. The pawing at the door continued so he locked it again and pulled the chair up under the handle. After a moment of consideration, he added the clothes horse and the little shelf. Then he positioned himself as far away from the door as possible and dialed a number on his phone.

“Taichi? It’s Koushirou-“

“I know it’s you, Kou, I see your name on the display” his boyfriend laughed at the end of the line.

“Considering the most recent events, I wouldn’t be so sure about that. Though I think zombies are too bad at handling phones” Koushirou remarked, never leaving his door out of sight.

“Hang on a second, zombies? Kou, since when do you make zombie jokes?”

“Zombies are serious business, I don’t joke about that. Currently my dorm door is attacked by at least one of them, so I cannot escape this way. That’s why I need your help. Get yourself a ladder and then show up under my window, if possible in an instant. I don’t know how much longer I can repel them.”

“Kou, are you certain you’re not joking? Or this could also be a bad dream, though I’m not sure you can call people while dreaming.”

Koushirou could nearly hear Taichi’s frown. “I am dead serious and I am certainly not dreaming. Just get yourself over here and don’t forget the ladder!” Hoping to have made his point clear, he hung up and braced himself for a breakthrough of the zombies.  


After what seemed like an eternity, but were actually only about ten minutes, a stone was thrown against his window. Koushirou shrieked at the sudden sound. The noise on the other side of the door had died down and he had dared to give up his defensive posture. Instead, he had collected in his backpack a few things like his wallet, important documents and his laptop to rescue from the soon-to-be infested room. When the next stone hit the window, he opened it and discovered Taichi in the garden below.

“I am thy saviour in need, Milady! Climb down this ladder and thou shall find no harm!” he exclaimed in a teasing tone.

Koushirou muttered “Screw you” under his breath and glanced one last time at the door before clambering over the window sill. Just then the thin door gave way after a final assault and the zombies scrambled through the hole in the splintered wood. They immediately spotted Koushirou in the open window, but thankfully, they were so slow that he had enough time to pull the window shut and climb down the ladder. He sprang down the last rungs and pulled the ladder with him. One of the zombies, who indeed turned out to be his roommates, managed to open the window but when he saw the drop height he would have to overcome without the aid of a ladder, he withdrew. Koushirou could only guess, but maybe they were now trying to get outside the official way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I first planned a kind of “Warm Bodies” story for this AU but now that I found myself all on my own in a four-person-apartment I thought it a quite interesting setting.


	11. 23.08. College AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the DigiDestined attend Bauhaus-University of Weimar and Taichi is, once again, responsible for Yamato turning grey earlier than he is supposed to.

„Taichiiii!“ A very annoyed looking blonde young man entered the media building on campus where only seconds ago a student with that exact name and brown hair as wild as a lion’s had ducked into. “I know you’re here, stop hiding.”

Yamato peeked in a dark corner of the hall, then proceeded through a glass door to where the seminar rooms lay. He checked the first room but it was locked. In the second room, a bewildered junior professor sat at the front table. 

“Has this been you? Screaming Yagami’s name like that?” she asked, pushing her hair self-consciously behind her ear. As the singer of a band whose popularity extended over the boundaries of university but was inconceivably high in that microcosm, Yamato had the fortune, or misfortune, depending on which side one stood, of being liked by the majority of women and men, students and professors alike as well as some staff members. 

He frowned and nodded, then inquired “You have not, by chance, seen Yagami, Ms Kamikawa?”

She shook her head. “You seem to be rather agitated, shouting after him like that?”

Yamato waved his hand. “Ah, just the usual, Ms Kamikawa. Just the usual.”  
With that he left her and walked to the end of the hall.   
The room here was also occupied by only one person.

“Koushirou-san” Yamato greeted the red-haired Media Informatics student who was working on his laptop which he had connected with the projector.

“Yamato-kun” the addressed person acknowledged him with an absent nod, then typed again vigorously. 

No-one in their circle of friends in their respective subjects understood how the two had become friends. Yamato studied Natural Hazards and Risks, as far away from Media Informatics as it could possibly get. They were also not in the student’s council or any other university organization. That puzzled many as they were so different characters, not even speaking of the rest of that group of friends, spanning four faculties and just as many subjects as there were friends.   
Still, here they were, Yamato asking Koushirou about the whereabouts of the third friend, Taichi Yagami, who studied Media Studies. One might assume Koushirou’s and Taichi’s fields closer together then Koushirou’s and Yamato’s but, alas, just because they shared the same building didn’t mean they had anything to do with one another. Which nobody understood, really.  
Anyway.  
Koushirou still had his gaze tacked on the screen when he said “I’m sorry, Yamato, but no, I haven’t seen Taichi. Is it very bad this time?” 

“I have just learned that Taichi is strolling in and out of my room in the flat I share with Takeru and Jyou. God knows where’s got the key from. I suspect Takeru gave him his to make a spare key, just to annoy me. I’m not hiding the crown jewels in there but, you know, it’s my room.”

Koushirou shrugged. “Taichi has never fully grasped the concept of privacy. Would you mind looking for him elsewhere? I have to have those Visualization slides finished in fifteen minutes.” 

He understood and shook his head, and when Koushirou finally looked up, Yamato had left the room.

Beside him, right behind the tall desk where the stationary computer for this room was stored, Taichi stirred to live. He let out a breath.  
“Thank God, he’s gone.” He got up and stretched, then grinned broadly at Koushirou. “Thanks, Kou, for not giving me away.”

“Don’t mention it. Just what have you been doing in Yamato’s room?”

“As he suspected, Takeru and I teamed up, just to exasperate him. But it’s really not a big deal.”

Koushirou shook his head and looked at the still beaming Taichi. “You’re so easily amused. Sometimes I wonder how we two found each other.” A shy smile appeared on his lips.

Taichi, if that was possible, grinned even wider. “Who cares? It just matters that we found each other.”   
With that, he leaned in and kissed Koushirou, for quite a long time, in which the usually alert boy forgot that he had some Visualization slides to attend.


	12. 24.08. Supernatural AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Taichi and Koushirou are “two gunslingers who ride into town, fight the bad guys, kiss the girl and ride out into the sunset again”* but instead of the girl they kiss each other.

“Do you see what I see?” Taichi asked, a joyfully anticipating smile playing in the corners of his lips.

“Yes, I do” Koushirou answered, not even half as amused as his partner.

The black haired woman in front of them shrieked, throwing her glasses away, then cackled that the blood froze in the veins. Her parents watched in horror as she continued to jump around uncontrollably.

***

A little earlier that day, around noon, two strangers strolled into an Italian restaurant in a small town somewhere in the Midwest. All eyes were on them from the moment they had entered the town limits in their 1967 Impala. The owner of the restaurant cautiously came from the back room. His voice trembled when he asked what he could get them. The taller one, tanned and with an untameable shock of brown hair, laughed sincerely despite the unease that basically radiated from the whole town. He ordered a black and strong coffee. His red-haired companion, shorter by a fair extent and also much paler, decided on simple mineral water. Even though they seemed no danger, the landlord retreated to the back room as soon as he had served his only customers.  
The two strangers were unaware of their surroundings, or they didn’t care about the mass of people that by now had gathered outside the windows of the restaurants. In the end, ever citizen tried to catch a glimpse. As soon as one of the two guests so much as threatened to turn around, they all ducked out of sight in one unified motion.  
This game went on for a while, the two inside ordering another round of drinks.  
When it looked as if they all could continue this until dusk, a farmer came up to the crowd at the windows. As he lived a little outside the town, he hadn’t acquired the behaviours that sometimes let the town population appear like a company of robots operated by the same brain.  
He asked one of the spectators what this was all about. The farmer was considered only a semi-stranger that’s why he wasn’t denied an answer but then again all he got was an indication to the insides.  
The farmer strained his eyes – he was short-sighted – then exclaimed “Good God!” and stormed into the restaurant. The crowd looked up at the sudden disturbance and shook their heads disapprovingly in unison.  
Inside, the farmer now stood beside the red-haired stranger. He seemed oddly thankful to see the two men. “Taichi! Koushirou! Finally, He has answered my prayers!”

Koushirou leaned back to give Taichi access to the conversation.

“Ah, sir…” he started but was cut off by Taichi.

“So you need our services, sir? It’s satisfying to see that our reputation has spread so far.”

“Yes! Last weekend I visited my sister’s family and in their town you had already killed a demon who was slaughtering cows.”

“Ah, the murdered cows. We hadn’t had this before, had we, Kou?”

His partner shook his head. “Indeed not. Now, sir, how can we help you?”

The farmer’s gaze suddenly dropped to the ground and he scratched his head. “Well, it’s my daughter. She’s possessed by a demon, we suppose.”

Koushirou immediately frowned. “A possessed human? We actually don’t do this, I’m afraid.”

On the farmer’s face appeared a wild mixture of chagrin, horror, and reluctance. Taichi’s extended hand caught his attention before he could reply.

“What Koushirou means is that we haven’t done this before. But every type of demon fight has a first. So why not start the possessed-human-type now.”

His bright smile seemed to eclipse Koushirou’s muttered “But that’s _not_ what I meant”, at least for the farmer.

“So you want to help us?”

Taichi nodded.

The farmer now beamed, tears of relief pooling at the corner of his eyes. “Thank you!” he cried and shook Taichi’s hand with his own rough and calloused one.

***

“So, Taichi, how do you want to tackle it? After all, it had been you who wanted to fight a demon in human’s body.”

“My idea? You’re the one with the brains. I’m just here for the brash decisions, you come up with smart solutions.”

“Oh, do I? That’s not what I signed up –“

“Could you stop bickering and DO something?” the farmer shouted, though he was still highly terrified.

“Sorry, sir. We’re right at it?” Taichi reassured him and turned to the farmer’s daughter who still thrashed, then turned around to glare at them with her pitch-black eyes.

“We need salt! Holy Water if you have any! And the bible! Quick!” Koushirou suddenly cried.

Everyone stared at him in disbelief before the farmer’s wife stirred to life in her husband’s arms, pushed him to the side and hurried into the kitchen. She came back mere seconds later with everything Koushirou had requested.

“Please look for Psalm 68” he requested while drawing a circle of salt on the creaking floor boards and sprinkled them with Holy Water. She handed him the open bible when she had found it.

Koushirou cleared his throat, then recited the Psalm “ _Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio infernalis adversarii, omnis congregatio et secta diabolica, ergo draco maledicte, ut ecclesiam tuam secura, tibi facias libertate servire, te rogamus, audi nos_ _!” °  
_

The farmer’s daughter gurgled and her eyes rolled up in her skull. Then she opened her mouth and out of it shot a fountain of black smoke. Koushirou threw Taichi the salt while he picked up the Holy Water. He sprinkled it at the demon while his partner pelted it with the salt. From the inside of the smoke snake came an ugly wheezing, it curled it on itself, before it sluggishly was dragged towards the circle of salt. Kouhsirou recited another part of the Psalm, and the smoke finally descended into the floor boards.  
Meanwhile, Taichi jumped at the side of the farmer’s daughter to prevent her falling to the ground. Now she hung limp in his arms. When the demon had disappeared, her parents rushed to her and Taichi passed her over to her father who cradled her in a tight embrace. Her mother cooed and stroked her hair. They turned to thank their saviours but all they discovered were the remains of the Exorcism.

Taichi and Koshirou leaned at the trunk of their Impala, looking over a cliff down at the town. Behind the valley, the sun set slowly, bands of gold and magenta lining the clear sky.

“So we exorcised our first demon today, huh? I think that’s an achievement we should celebrate” Taichi remarked after a long stretch of silence.

“I wished we had it done with more preparation. Under those circumstances, all I can celebrate is the fact that we made it out alive” Koushirou answered, though he wasn’t as stressed as before.

“I’d call this a start. What do you have in mind?” Taichi looked at his partner and was surprised to find a hint of glee sparkling in his eyes.

“Lean down” he commanded, and when Taichi obeyed, he captured his lips in a deep and passionate kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry to all the Supernatural fans in the Digimon fandom: I have zero clue about the show. What I wrote is based on the first two pages of the Wikipedia page (that’s where I have the introduction part from) and the Exorcism page on the SN Wikia (where I copied the Psalm text from). According to this, they have performed several Exorcisms before, so the conversation in the restaurant doesn’t make sense if you strictly apply SN onto it. I apologize to the die-hard fans for this.
> 
> Proper credit:  
> *https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supernatural_(U.S._TV_series)#Conception_and_creation  
> °http://supernatural.wikia.com/wiki/Exorcism#In_Swap_Meat_and_Repo_Man


	13. 25.08. Disney AU - Beauty and the Beast AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Mimi stumbles in the realm of a mysterious creature.

In a stormy winter’s night, Mimi Tachikawa had taken a wrong turn and was now wandering through a thick, snow-clad forest. She had been on her way home from a fair where she had represented her father who lay in bed with a broken leg. She didn’t worry much about herself - she wore her warmest coat - but she was concerned for the health of her horse, Palm was awake since the small hours of the day, and even though she was, too, she had rested on the back of her faithful companion.   
Dusk slowly descended over the forest and she needed to find a place to stay the night. Otherwise they wouldn’t make it to the next morning.

When all hope seemed entirely lost, she thought to have spotted a faint spill of light among the trees. First, she dismissed it as a wishful thinking, a fata morgana her tired brain wanted her to see. But as she rode nearer, she could make out the shape of a stately building. Indeed, it was a castle, she discovered, as she arrived at it. She hesitated a moment, but then it was Palm who pulled her towards a low building on the left. The horse had smelled the hay that was stored in the stable. Mimi first fed her, then strolled over the eerily quiet castle yard until she landed in front of an impressive oak gate.   
She called out for somebody but no one answered. For another minute, she waited there, calling out louder once more, but then the cold crept up her spine. So, she decided to let herself in. The vestibule was lit by a hundred candles, making it very inviting. She stood there for a moment, mouth agape in awe before she willed herself further. At the end of the hall a door opened silently. Mimi bowed slightly to indicate her gratitude, then walked through the open door. Before her stretched an airy banquet hall with a long but empty table. Only at the very end could she make out a plate under a metallic cover. She looked around to see if there was anyone who this meal was meant for. When she found nobody she assumed it was for her and set down. In mere minutes she had devoured the delicious dish - salmon and baked potatoes - and had gulped down the wine that stood beside it.   
When she was finished, another door at the side of the hall swung open. By now, she was familiar with the procedure, so she went through it and up a twisting staircase that led to a cosy bedroom full of books. She was mesmerized by it. Either, it was coincidence or her host indeed knew that she was huge bookworm. She expressed her thanks once again, then quickly undressed and fell onto the comfy mattress and into a dreamless sleep.

The next morning, Mimi descended the stairs and carefully peered through the slightly ajar door into the dining hall. A small gasped escaped her lips when she saw who she assumed was her host. It appeared to be a huge crimson-coloured bird standing on his unnaturally strong legs. His talons were yellow as were the tips of his folded wings. Aside from his bare and muscled chest and arms he was covered in feathers and on his head sat a red and blue helmet with a single feather on top. He stood with the back to her and she hoped that he had not heard her. She smoothed her skirt and entered, announcing herself with a loud “good morning”. Her host turned, a hostile glare piercing her. She involuntarily took a step back.

“I don’t know what should be good about the morning when you haven’t left already.”

  
This impolite remark brought back Mimi’s self-confidence. “Well, I’m sorry if that disturbs you. In contrast to you I have manners and I wanted to thank you properly for the relaxing night. But if you don’t need my gratitude I will saddle my horse and go now. Here’s to never seeing you again” she replied and turned to go, with her head held high.

“Wait!”

She froze but didn’t turn.

“Let me apologize. I am not used to company and I expected you to go without a word. Or worse, run away screaming when they see me. Humans usually do that.” His voice was gentle and offered her a hand, figuratively speaking.

Now she looked at him. “So you don’t have any friends? That is very sad. I’m sorry I was so harsh.”

The bird man waved. “You had every right to be.” He paused. “I... You... Do you anywhere urgent to go?”

She raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

He spread his arms. “Be my guest, if you wish.”

She looked at him, flummoxed, then took in her surroundings once more.   
“I...Yes! I would love to. Do you have a messenger of some sorts? I need to tell my father.”

Immediately, he was highly alert. “But don’t tell him where you are. I don’t want anybody else snooping around here.”

“Oh, now I’m snooping around?”

He sighed. “No, you are not. But anybody else definitely would.”

He let her out of the room and up to a shed full of pigeons with which she could send her message.

***

And so the days went. Her host, whose name was Garuda as she learnt over dinner that evening, showed her around the estate. To the castle belonged a wide garden with many greenhouses in which the beast cultivated roses, one more beautiful than the other.   
Mimi enjoyed herself very much here. Free from all the household duties that always stuck to her while her two sisters never crooked a finger, she was able to spend her days as she pleased. She usually could be found in her room reading one of the many books. Or she sat in the dining hall in front of a crackling fire, knitting scarves and gloves, in the silent but pleasant company of the beast. Before dinner, they would then take a stroll around the gardens, and the beast would explain to her all the wonderful flowers that were now asleep under blankets of snow.

***

Mimi didn’t want to, but as the days went by, she grew restless. She missed her father, she even missed her two vile sisters. She wandered around the castle, looking for distraction, but all she found was the bird man in front of the fire in the dining hall. His broad shoulders were hunched and he had turned his back to her.

“You want to go home” he said without greeting her first as she entered.

“I will, yes. I miss my family. I hope you understand that.”

He shook his head. “No, I do not. But I let you go because you are not happy anymore. Though I ask you to come back. Otherwise there will be ... consequences. Would you do that for me?”

“Why yes, I will!”

“Then go to your room. You will find a rose under a glass dome. Take it with you. Over time, it will lose it petals. And when the last petal falls, it will be too late for me.” But he whispered the last sentence to himself, so she didn’t hear this crucial detail.

She bowed even though he hadn’t turned to her. “I will and be sure that it won’t be long until we see each other.”

She rode home and was greeted with a bone-crashing hug from her father and a collective sneer from her sisters. But that changed into appreciative Ah’s and Oh’s when she presented them the treasures the bird man had left in her room along with the rose. This, she hid from all curious looks and put it on her nightstand.   
The end of the year was around the corner, and so she was busy preparing the village’s festivities. It absorbed and tired her out so much that, after a few days, she hardly glanced at the rose anymore. Petal after petal pooled around it, leaving the flower in a more and more devastated state.   
One night, just before New Year’s Eve, there was only one petal left. Mimi entered her bedroom and lay on the bed, instantly asleep. She dreamt vividly that night from her time with the beast. But also from his decline. How he walked around the castle in a hunched position, how his crimson skin drained colour. How his once mighty wings slowly dissolved into single feathers. Then she heard his weak voice calling her name, barely audible, and saw him lying on the ground of the dining hall in front of the fire.  
She sat up, sweat glistening on her forehead. Then she looked at the rose. Over the course of the last days she had totally forgotten about it. When she took it in her palm, the last petal fell on the nightstand. That’s when she remembered the words the beast had whispered the last time she had seen him. That time, she had wondered what they were supposed to mean.   
Cold sweat broke out all over her body. In a single motion, she hopped out of the bed and slipped into her coat. Hoping to not wake the others, she rushed out to the stable and, without bothering about the saddle, got onto Palm and rode her out of the town.

Breathlessly, she reached the castle which stood in unfamiliar darkness. She hurried inside, through the vestibule, into the dining room. There he lay beside the fire, hardly breathing.   
“Garuda!” she cried in despair and knelt beside him.

“You came back. But it’s too late.” His words seemed to vanish into thin air the moment the left his lips.

“Yes, I came back. I cannot express how sorry I am. But it’s not too late” she whispered and stroked his shoulder. He wanted to counter something but she captured his lips in a slow kiss. When she felt him vibrate under her fingertips, she opened her eyes and, in awe, sat back on her heels.  
The mighty wings shrank back, the feathers vanished. The crimson skin turned into a delicate porcelain complexion and the strong muscles subsided until there lay a slender young woman before her. A woman with hair as red as the roses in her garden and a soft and gentle face. When she opened her eyes, Mimi looked into intricate crimson eyes.

“Thank you” she breathed, still a little worn. Sora, that was her name before a malicious witch had turned her into a bird man, expected her saviour to back away, get up and run as she had surely envisioned a handsome young prince after the transition. She wouldn’t hold her back even if she would be shattered.

As if liking the prospect of proving Sora wrong, Mimi smiled like the cat that got the cream, leaned forward and kissed her, more demanding this time.


	14. 26.08. Universe Alterations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Taichi and Koushirou are chased by one of the evilest Digimon and have to escape in a wild cross country roadtrip. Pure crack.

A black sports car pulled up in the Izumi’s drive way and the driver honked impatiently. Confused, Koushirou looked out of the window and saw Taichi behind the wheel, waving him out.

“Get in here, Kou, quick!” he shouted, revving up the engine.  
Koushirou was not entirely sure why he should do this, but as he had learned long ago: it was usually better to follow Taichi’s instructions and question afterwards why they were actually necessary.

“And bring Tentomon!” Taichi added as an afterthought.  
  
“Okay, so where are we going? And where, in the name of the Holy Binary Code, did you get _this_ car from?”, Koushirou only dared to asked now that they had left the crowded streets of Tokyo behind and were on the motorway where the risk of accidents had decreased. But only slightly as Taichi was travelling with a break neck speed, dodging cars on the lanes and leaving angry honks in his wake.

“Lilithmon is on my tail, or better say, on Agumon’s tail. He crashed a conference of the Seven Great Demon Lords and looted most of their food. I had to hide him in the trunk.” Taichi answered with his eyes straight on the asphalt. At least he didn’t think himself that excellent of a driver that he could look at Koushirou while driving.

“The Seven Great Demon Lords? Are you kidding me?” Koushirou leaned forward to shout at the trunk. “Agumon, you were aware that this has been one hell of a kamikaze mission, weren’t you?”

He only heard a disgruntled mumble but he took that as an admission of guilt.

“But you haven’t answered my other question yet. Where did you swipe up this super car?”

 “I didn’t swipe it up anywhere. A friend of mine runs a car rental, he lent it to me when I promised to bring it back to him by the end of the day.”

“And you are confident that we will make it until then?”

Taichi flashed him a toothy smile. “We will surely make it. We only have to lure Lilithmon out to the country side, pick up an equivalent worth of the buffet and await her with it. Then we should be good.”

Koushirou shot him a look. “How do you intend to acquire this? And where is she actually?”

“Huh? Oh, I don’t know exactly. But probably quite close to us. I’m not too sure how fast evil Digimon can go. Regarding the food, I’ve already made some calls. Sora and Mimi are currently rotating in the kitchen in Sora’s apartment. We agreed upon meeting them in fifteen minutes.”

Koushirou’s eyes widened. “Fifteen minutes? You know that we’re still twenty miles away from them.”

“That’s why I picked this car, honey” Taichi replied and pushed the pedal down.

A cloud of dust was rising in front of them, looking strangely solid, blocking their way.

“What is this? I don’t think it’s simple dirt” Koushirou observed. “Hang on a second.” He pulled out his tablet and typed quickly. He went pale.

Taichi noticed it in the corner of his eye. “What is it?”

“Well, that seems to be an attack of Lilithmon. I beg you to not drive straight into it! Taichi, are you listening to me?”

Taichi muttered something that sounded suspiciously like “Oh shit”, then made a sudden swerve. Koushirou yelped. The tires screeched when Taichi left the asphalt road and slid over the grass before he regained his grip and sped on. Koushirou grasped the door handle and saw how the dust wall extended with the same speed as Taichi was driving.

“How do you want to get past this?” Koushirou screamed.

Taichi made a shushing sound, flicked a lever on his steering wheel, and suddenly loud music started playing. Accelerating along to the rhythm, Taichi zipped through the grass, gaze flickering into the right side-mirror, and he smiled.

“Hold tight” was the only warning he gave Koushirou before he slammed hard on the breaks, making an abrupt turn with the aid of the handbrake. Koushirou was too frightened to shriek this time. He just pressed deep into his seat and sent a short fervent prayer up to the skies.

When they didn’t immediately feel a collision with Lilithmon’s attack, Koushirou popped one eye open. There was no dust wall anymore, instead they had plunged into the woods, bumping far too fast over a sandy path.

“Where’s Lilithmon?” he asked in a very small voice.

“Probably right behind us. You see, she just moved the wall adjusted to our speed, it wasn’t an extending wall. So, I just lunged backwards, instead of trying to outrun it. This way here is a shortcut to Sora’s place. I’m still certain that we will make it in time.”

Koushirou snorted, a very uncharacteristic thing for him, and leaned back in the seat. “That is all fine and dandy, but why did you make me part of your suicide squad?”

Taichi smirked. “I thought you would never ask. Well, I will drop you off at Sora’s the second we get there, and while you collect all the food I will lure Lilithmon to a safe place somewhere in the open country. You and Kabuterimon will then follow me and we can present our offerings to the Demon Lords and beg for forgiveness.”

Koushirou’s sigh came from deep within, making Taichi only grin wider.  
  
They stopped with screeching brakes in front of Sora’s apartment building and Taichi shouted “Out, out!”, nearly pushing Koushirou and Tentomon out. He hadn’t quite closed the door yet when Taichi already raced away. Tentomon pointed upwards where a blurred shadow flew over them, following the sports car that now was only a little dot at the end of the street.  
 Before Koushirou could ring the bell, the door buzzed open. He hurried up the stairs – why had Sora have to live on the sixth floor? – and reached the door completely out of breath.

 “Kou!” Mimi cried from out of the open door and pulled him in a tight hug before dragging him into the apartment. She led him to the living room where Sora packed the box full of prepared meals.

“We thought Kabuterimon could take off here on the balcony” she explained while she sealed the box.

Koushirou could only pant but nodded, because what choice did he have? He took out his DigiVice and looked expectantly at his partner. “You ready?” he asked, his voice still shaky.

Tentomon nodded before he disappeared in a white haze: “Tentomon digivolves to…Kabuterimon!”

When the huge blue beetle digimon had emerged among them Sora gave him the box in one claw, and he took Koushirou in the other. Then they flew into the direction that Taichi had sped off; Koushirou was still not sure where they would meet Taichi but as he knew him, he certainly just had to follow the line of destruction he would have surely left.

As Koushirou had predicted, Taichi’s trail was unmistakable. Cars that had to evade him stood every which way at the sidelines and angry drivers were ranting heatedly.  
Somewhere on the horizon clouds of fume were rising in regular intervals.

“Is this Taichi sending us smoke signals?” Kabuterimon asked in his sonorous voice.

“That…might be actually possible” Koushirou admitted bewildered and with a knitted brow. They flew towards the column of smoke. At the base of it Taichi was waving, but not at them, they realized. Just a little ahead of them Lilithmon levitated over Taichi, pinching him down with a merciless gaze.

Koushirou took pity on Taichi, so he called out “Taichi, we have the food!”

Even though he didn’t turn, he gave them a thumbs-up. They were close enough now to hear him yell “I have the food, Lilithmon, I have it. Please, just look in the box my friend Kabuterimon is carrying!”

Lilithmon’s gaze flickered to them and she floated over. Koushirou shivered, and he felt Kabuterimon’s unease but they both straightened because they suspected that Lilithmon was feasting on their fear.

“Here, please take it and, please, leave Agumon and Taichi unharmed!”

Lilithmon raised an arm. The box slipped out of Kabuterimon’s claw and glided over to her. It opened in front of her and the meals flew out. She eyed them for a very long time. Taichi, Agumon, Koushirou and Kabuterimon held their breath for what seemed an eternity before the digimon looked up again and gave them a tiny nod.

“Very well, that all looks rather charming. After long consideration I grant you, Agumon, forgiveness for your offense. However, if you shall ever attract my displeasure again, I will certainly not be so generous. Now, out of my sight!”

Her voice was sharp like an ice dagger which made them immediately obey. Taichi scrambled off to the hem of the forest, and Kabuterimon flew quickly after him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspirations for this:  
> I Don’t Know How To Stop by Halestorm  
> Breaking Outta Hell by Airbourne which is also playing in the car  
> the trailers for Baby Driver  
> the movie City Cobra
> 
> This fic is entirely for fun, all the others were more or less serious, but this one you can certainly not take seriously.


	15. 27.08. Crossover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Ken and Kouji watch their friends play football.

Wormmon tucked safely under one arm, Ken strolled down the busy avenue before taking a turn and entering a quiet side alley. As the lane was so narrow, he could already hear the animated shouts and the cheering coming from the football pitch at the end of the way. When he emerged between the tall buildings, he squinted to adjust to the brightness. Then he walked over to his usual spot: a bench beneath a shady oak tree. But today he wasn’t the only one to have this idea. Another boy already sat there, the bandana with the tiger print in his black hair immediately catching Ken’s attention.

“Hello” Ken greeted him with his kind smile and soft voice. Nonetheless, the stranger jumped at the sudden addressing.

He looked up at him. “Oh, hello.” He slid to the side to make room for Ken, then the two boys watched in mutual silence.  
On the field in front of them, a group of fourteen-year-olds was engaged in a vigorous football match, supervised by a seventeen-year-old with a wild brown mane. One of the players, a tanned boy with spiky burgundy hair, scored and triumphantly raised his fist in the air. Ken’s face lit up and he clapped quietly.

His neighbour on the bench looked at him, the tiniest smile played around his mouth. “So, this is your friend then?”

Ken turned to him.  “Yes, that’s Daisuke. Who are you watching? I’m Ken, by the way.” He extended a hand.

The other boy shook it and replied “I’m Kouji, nice to meet you. My friend Takuya is on the opponent team of your friend. He’s the one in the red shirt.” He indicated the boy in question who had just received the ball on the left flank.

“He seems to be proficient. I used to play, too, you know.”

“Yes, he is! Though I have little understanding of football. I prefer badminton. Why did you stop playing, if I may ask?”

Ken laughed. “Yes, you may. I broke my leg in a quite complicated way, and even though I’m fully recovered my doctor gave me the advice to not play again. I stick to running now.”

“And I’m always going with him” Wormmon piped up in his high-pitched voice.

“Wormmon! I told you not to speak in front of strangers” Ken admonished his companion in a low tone.

Kouji leaned forward to look at the caterpillar-like creature. “You’re a digimon, right?”

Ken was nonplussed. “How do you know that?”

Kouji shrugged. “I’ve been to the DigiWorld, too. We could digivolve ourselves and didn’t have partners. Though, I sometimes wish I had one.” He stretched his hand out to Wormmon, who eyed it suspiciously before jumping enthusiastically on to it.

“Hello Kouji!” he said and put his first two stumpy legs on Kouji’s wrist, his way of performing a handshake.

“Hello Wormmon.

Just before they could continue the conversation, two heavily breathing boys arrived at their bench.

“Hey!” they panted in unison, bent over their knees, then looked at their friends.

“So you two know each other?” Daisuke finally asked, beating Takuya to the punch.

Ken shook his head. “No, we first met on the bench as we both wanted to watch you.”

“Nice.” Takuya finally had his part in the conversation. “Now, what do you think about a cold drink? I for myself could definitely use one.”


	16. 28.08. Freebie - Pacific Rim AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Koushirou is a Ranger but then his partner gets injured and he needs a replacement

The first time Taichi laid eyes on the inside of the Shatterdome in Tokyo he was shocked. Throngs of people bustled through the enormous building. Heaps of metal climbed into what could only be the sky as the cupola was not visible from down there. Lights blinked everywhere, and above the steel gate he had just passed an enormous clock was installed, the seconds flipping stoically.

 "Hey!" a booming voice came straight towards him. He turned and saw a sturdy Afro-American with a white beard stomping through the gate. "You are the new technician? They told me about a tall Japanese guy with hair as wild as a lion’s. You know, I couldn't believe it but they were not joking." He had now reached Taichi and looked up to him, but Taichi felt intimidated.

He only managed a stumbled "Ah, well, yeah, I suppose, that's me, er."

"Not the most eloquent, are you? Anyway, we need every hand. You said in your interview you're good at precision engineering? Well, come along then. I'm Joseph by the way, your foreman. But we're not really into the hierarchy thing here. Except for Pentecost. You know Stacker Pentecost? He's the head of this whole operation; he's the reason why we're all still on board. He can make the difference, you know?"

 Taichi just nodded, too overwhelmed by Joseph's hearty verbiage. He followed him down the metal-covered alleyways, past the quarters of the Rangers where he lingered a little before Joseph urged him to hurry further. Taichi would have loved to be a Ranger but he had missed the passing mark in the geography test by one point. In everything else he had excelled but then, in his excitement to be so close to passing, he had forgotten that Sydney was _not_ located on the west coast of Australia.

Out of one of the rooms emerged a short young man with neatly cut red hair in a Ranger training suit. When he saw Taichi he nodded, the tiniest of smiles playing on his lips.

***

Taichi proved to be a very reliable and hard-working technician. With his help, Josef managed to repair the disrupted left-hemisphere connections of the Jaeger _Winged Cactus_ in less than half the time he usually needed for such tasks.

When they sat in the break room, Josef interrogating the new employee, they suddenly heard a loud metallic impact, followed by a shocking scream and noisy turmoil. They immediately rushed to the tower where the Jaeger _Soaring Wolf_ was stationed. A finger of the slim and nimble robot had crashed down, but thank goodness only had buried one of the Ranger’s legs. It could have been worse, though. In similar accidents they had had dead to mourn.   
When they arrived at the scene, a crowd had already gathered. Medics were tending to the lanky man with bluish black hair whose face was a mask of horror and pain. Beside him knelt the red-haired Ranger Taichi had seen earlier this day. Suddenly, the crowd parted like the red sea for Moses and a tall black man in a neat dark blue uniform walked into the inner circle.

 “How could this happen?” Stacker Pentecost needn’t to raise his voice, it was full enough to carry through the tumult and end it at once. Everyone stepped back so the head of the resistance had access to the wounded Pilot.

 “We cannot be sure yet but we suppose that the connecting bolts were not secured correctly. We are currently investigating the event” a technician of this department informed him.

 “This is the last thing we could do with; a Kaiju can attack at any moment. But it has happened; there is nothing we can change about it now. So, take Kido to the medical centre, and we have to look for a replacement for him immediately.”

 Taichi pricked his ears. This was the chance he had waited for. He hesitated not a second but stepped forward directly next to Pentecost.   
“Uhm, sir, I might be just the person you are looking for.” His voice trembled a little, but it was loud enough for everybody to hear.

Pentecost turned to him. “And you are?”

“Yagami Taichi, sir. I was hired as technician but attended a Pilot training course.”

He had Pentecost’s full attention now. “Why did you not apply as a Pilot then?”

That was the point Taichi had wanted to manoeuvre around. As this proved impossible, he decided to tackle it head on. “I missed graduation by one point because I placed Sydney on the west coast of Australia in the geography test.”

Pentecost eyed him with an indecipherable look, then turned to his assistant and ordered Taichi’s file.   
 Taichi felt as if he stood on hot coals when he first waited for the assistant to return and then for Pentecost to read the file. It seemed like an eternity.

 “You have an outstanding score in the simulator and your health data is exceptional. I cannot believe they didn’t let you in just because of that little mistake” he told Taichi with the touch of a smile, and then he turned to the red-haired Ranger. “Izumi, go and test your drift compatibility with Yagami. I expect you here in an hour for report.”

The Ranger named Izumi bowed, then took Taichi’s elbow and pulled him away. Taichi managed a half bow towards Pentecost before staggering after him.

***

By the late afternoon Taichi got a Pilot suit fitted for him. After he had slipped into his new equipment, he went to a meeting with Koushirou Izumi, as his new partner had properly introduced himself. He wanted to show him, the rookie, their new working place or, as he had put it when inviting him to it, their second home. Their Jaeger, _Aqua Beetle_ , was a hunky blue, white, and red painted robot with one of its arms replaced by an electric shock cannon and wings that were currently folded at its back.   
Taichi felt a soft touch at his chin and he realized that his mouth was hanging open. He looked down at a slightly smiling Koushirou.

“I know he’s a beauty, just wait until you’re actually in it.” He stepped into the elevator and Taichi followed him. Through the glass front he could take in the Jaeger in all his glorious 82 metres. That made him seven metres taller than the other Jaegers _Soaring Wolf, Red Dragon_ and _Winged Cactus_ , but except for _Winged Cactus_ they were slimmer and therewith more prone to fall if they were taller.

Just when they had reached the top floor, a siren went blaring off.

“A Kaiju has come through the breach, category three, Code Name Ridger. _Winged Cactus_ , prepare for launch!” Local Command Centre Chief Tendo Choi announced.   

Taichi stepped to the railing and looked down at the at once accelerated bustle. The tower around the green Jaeger lit up, with engineers flocking to it. After five minutes, two women in reddish Jaeger suits marched confidently through the hall to the robot. One had bright maroon hair cut into a neat bob, the other’s head shone up to him in a vivid purple, distinguishing them from the all-khaki-coloured staff. They entered the Jaeger, and soon it raised its massive arms and pressed one fist against the open palm of the other hand, signalling it therewith ready for take-off. Taichi watched in awe as the robot was transported out of the Shatterdome on caterpillar tracks.

“Takenouchi and Tachikawa are our cleverest pilots. They have taken down eight Kaijus by now. Ishida and Takaishi as brothers are the fastest; it usually takes them less than half an hour. Their count is five, because _Soaring Wolf_ can’t be put into service against the heavier Kaijus.” Koushirou had stepped beside him to the railing.

“And _Aqua Beetle_? How many have Kido and you taken down?”

“Seven. We catch the bastards that are too heavy for _Soaring Wolf_.”

“And _Red Dragon_? What about him?”

Koushirou embarrassedly scratched his head. “Well, he is currently without a crew. Motomiya and Inoue are not talking to each other. No one knows exactly what has happened but it seems severe. Problem is, their drift compatibility is one of the highest ever recorded in the program. Replacing them is nearly impossible, especially with a takedown count of ten.”

“Ten?”

Koushirou nodded. “Best horse in the stable yet unusable at the moment. It’s a shame.” He sounded as he had given up hope and had arranged himself with the situation.

“And Pentecost accepts that?”

Koushirou shrugged. “He’s not exactly happy about it. But those two not only are the best Pilots, they’re also the most obstinate people any of us has ever seen. Nothing you can do about it, really.”

“But, I mean, can they not put their obstacles aside for the sake of, you know, humanity?”

“Common sense might suggest it but - “

Koushirou was cut off by a second bellowing siren.

“ _Winged Cactus_ is shut off! _Aqua Beetle_ , get ready for launch!”

“Wait, us?” Taichi asked, baffled.

“Yes, us. Now come on.”

Koushirou grabbed him by the arm and pulled him towards the door leading into the head of the robot. Within seconds, he found himself in his first real Jaeger. The new surroundings seemed to shut of the questioning part of his mind and put him into battle state. He stepped into the geared boot locks of the Motion Rig with which he could move nearly as free as on stable ground. While he put on his helmet, technicians connected the spine of his suit to the Rig so the neural signals could be transmitted without interferences to the Jaeger. Koushirou had already started calibrating his hemisphere, and Taichi followed suit only a second later. A feminine robotic voice announced that both hemispheres were successfully calibrated.

A holographic display appeared in front of their faces, showing the coast of west Japan. A red dot signalled the defunct Jaeger whose Pilots were about to be rescued by a wing of helicopters. A bigger blue dot encircled it before it turned to head for the coast line. Beside the radar map a table with information about the approaching Kaiju floated into the display:

Codename: Ridger  
Height: 75 Metres  
Weight: 9000 Tons  
Category: III

Beneath the table was a grainy satellite picture of an eight-legged monster with a husky body and long arms that ended in crayfish-like claws.

“Oh Jesus” Taichi muttered when he took in the picture.

Koushirou chuckled. The loudspeaker crackled and Choi inquired “Rangers, are you ready?”

“Rodger!” Taichi answered and caught the amused wink of his partner in the corner of his eye.

“Then prepare for neural handshake starting in four... three... two... one!”

Then they were sucked into the Drift.

_Koushirou stood behind an open door, eavesdropping on his parents. He had just heard that he’d been adopted and his parents were debating when they wanted to tell him about it._

_Taichi chased a football over a field before passing it to a fellow player. He watched in delight as his friend scored a goal._

_Koushirou was hunched over a laptop, his face displaying satisfaction. Before him on the screen flooded a stream of flickering numbers._

_A dog barked and Taichi and his friends ran away laughing. Then the owner of the dog appeared close by and they weren’t laughing anymore._

Back and forth swung their memories, pleasant and less pleasant ones intermingling before they finally settled back into the present.

Tokyo. 2024. That’s where they were needed at the moment.

It didn’t feel odd for Taichi to be in the brain of somebody he’s never met before. On the contrary, it felt natural, as if that’s what he’d been doing all his life.

They confirmed that their hemispheres were synched to the massive Jaeger, proving it by both raising their right arm, and the Jaeger did the same.

“Then _Aqua Beetle_ is ready for deploy. It is your order to keep the Kaiju off Tokyo as long as possible. Copy?” Now it was Pentecost echoing from the loudspeaker.

“Copy that, sir” Koushirou answered dutifully.

They were quickly brought to the doors of the Shatterdome, and as soon as the doors had closed behind them, they flicked the levers above their heads. Responding at once to the demand, _Aqua Beetle_ roar to live.

“Enfold wings!” Koushirou commanded, and the colossal blue steel wings spread swiftly, lifting the robot into the air after a couple of powerful bats.

They saw the Kaiju staggering just inside the mouth of Tokyo Bay, so there was still a good chance to keep collateral damage as small as possible. The two Pilots didn’t bother about setting down, they grabbed the monster straight out of the air and, while lifting it up a few metres, spun around to steer it back to the open sea. It immediately started clawing at the Jaeger and growled. It swung back and forth, and the Jaeger swayed in the air. As it got harder for the Pilots to keep the robot straight, they dropped their writhing cargo with a splash into the sea. They set the Jaeger down only a few metres away from it and locked their feet into the seabed.

“Now let’s get this thing going!” Taichi muttered through gritted teeth.

“Yes, let’s give this bastard what it deserves!” Koushirou added.

Taichi glanced to him amused, then focused on the beast in front of them. They fastened their right arms in place, and the electric shock cannon started glowing red, sparks flurrying around it. Ridger advanced, its moves looked like it was dancing through the waves.

A faint _pling_ resounded through the head of _Aqua Beetle_ , indicating that the electric shock canon was fully charged. The first shot hit Ridger’s lower abdominal region, and so did the consecutive shots, causing the Kaiju to bend over. But it was not done yet. It issued a terrible war cry and lurched forward, claws spread. One of them caught the right wing of the Jaeger and pulled it forward.

“Damn, why aren’t the wings back inside!” Taichi yelled in irritation.

Koushirou ushered the corresponding command and the wings folded back, but a good chunk of it was torn out. It took a moment for _Aqua_ to regain its footing and the Kaiju seized this second to launch another attack. Now it used its front legs, punching them straight at _Aqua_.

But the Jaeger was faster. It grabbed them with both hands and tore them apart, ripping it from the body. The Kaiju roared in agony. It had no time for recovery, though.

Taichi commanded for the breast plates to open which hid the blizzard rockets. Smoke rose out of the muzzles after the missiles were fired. They hit the Kaiju square in the chest, going straight through it. Taichi and Koushirou could see the skyline of Tokyo through the holes in its body.

“I think it is done. But why don’t we check for a pulse?” Taichi turned to Koushirou with half a smirk on his lips. Koushirou nodded.

They grabbed hold of its left shoulder and punched its face with the uncharged canon. The body was completely limp.

“No pulse.” Taichi concluded and they let it drop into the ocean.

Koushirou pressed two buttons over his head, activating the comm. “Sir, Ridger is dead. And we left him here in the sea, so there will be no case of Kaiju Blue, either. But _Aqua Beetle_ lost half of his right wing.”

“Good job. The research team will get to it shortly. And you get back here now.”

“Aye, sir.” Taichi replied.

“And you Yagami: Leave the responding to Izumi. You’re just making a fool of yourself.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was probably my favourite prompt of the whole week.
> 
> I tried my best to describe the special situations of the film but, alas, this is a movie that relies on the visual to be fully appreciated. So if you haven’t yet, go watch it, it’s awesome! Have a taste here: http://drivingmradam.tumblr.com/post/153063902537/gipsy-danger-vs-otachi-in-pacific-rim-requested (the using-the-ship-as-a-baseball-bat-scene is one of my all-time favourites btw).
> 
> The technical terms are derived from Pacific Rim: The Novelization by Alex Irvine. 
> 
> As you may have noticed when you are an observant reader, I based their Jaegers on their respective Digimon Partners and modelled both looks and attacks after them.
> 
> When I’m in the mood for it -and have the time haha- I could imagine writing one-shots about the other Jaeger teams and their fighting. Tbh, I already started one with Yamato and Takeru.


End file.
